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Pandebono (Colombian Cheese bread)

Pandebono is a traditional colombian cheese bread. I have been getting a lot of e-mails asking me for this recipe, so here it is my friends. I made these delicious Pandebonos last week and they came out perfectly and were delicious. For a minute, I did not miss Colombia while eating these fantastic cheese balls, accompanied by a cup of Colombian coffee of course. I ate so many of them, I could not get up from the couch for a while. Try them, you’ll thank me for it 🙂

These wonderful Colombian pandebonos are perfect for breakfast or for an afternoon snack.This recipe is also gluten free.

Comments

There’s no place like home. Thanks for sharing the recipe. These cheese bread looks fantastic. The texture is perfect and I would love bite into it now. And I thought they’re complicated to make. But looking at the procedure, it’s actually simple which is great.

Otto;s Yuca Flour, on Otto site
Also on Amazon
Or try latin markets. Goya has a small bag in the Goya aisle of some supermarkets, also called manioc flour.
I’ll try this recipe, using the yuca flour (I bought Otto’s at Whole Foods, on sale for $14, regularly there about $18). I am intrigued by the addition of cornmeal (which I love). Believe it will add another textural dimension.

Erica Great recipe!! although I have a question: They did not seem to puff as much as the ones in the picture, and others I tried. I’ve also notice that in some other recipes its used the baking powder… would it puff more if I put some baking powder?
Do you think there may be a reason of why they did not puff up so much with your recipe?? Temperature? Thanks anyway!!

These look incredibly tasty and so simple to make. I will have to look for the flour in my local grocery. We have an extensive Hispanic food section, so I think I’ll be able to try these. I love your blog. I know very little about Columbian cuisine, so I love finding new foods and tastes.

This is one of those foods I thought it would be impossible to recreate, however reading your recipe I can’t wait to try it….does anyone have any idea what supermarketschains or special food distributors carry the yuca flour?

There is no substitute for the yuca flour. You can find it in any major grocery store as Tapioca Starch or Cassava Flour as well as several brands of Masarepa cornmeal flour. Both are gluten-free flours.

Erica – I know I sound like a broken record, but if I could have my way, I’d love say a week or so to really try all your recipes together instead of in spurts – really immerse myself in Columbian cooking. It all sounds so incredible and good.

Ave maria pues!
These look like the ones my mother use to make! I love your site! Thank you for representing Colombian cuisine, something that many have not had the pleasure of trying just yet!
Can you please post a recipe for muchacho rellgeno?

These look good 🙂 I add 2 teaspoons of brown sugar to mine, use the food processor, and put a little butter on top of them about 5 minutes before they are done! Also, I do either little balls or the ring shape. Now I’m going to make some b/c they are so good!

Hello Erica, I live in Belgium and I have a Colombian friend Alexandra. She is forever talking of the great food back in Colombia and has not dared much to experiment here. Well, thanks to your site, I have been able to bring a little Colombia here for her. This has inspired her to try cooking traditional recipes for her family. The ingredients are not always easy to find, but I believe in compromising 🙂 I am happy to report that we both are having fun trying many of your recipes. I am American with a passion for good food and I love to cook!!!! So Erica, bring it on 🙂 Keep up the awesome work here cause I am a big fan!!!
Thank you!!!!!

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pandebono!! I’m half Colombian, and love our country’s dishes. I have been somewhat hesitant to make them at home. I will go to a nearby Colombian bakery and get them there. However, you have inspired me to give it a shot!! Thank You! : )

My mother inlaw is from Colombia and she has always brought back the cheese balls by the suitcase full when she visits there, I asked her why she does not make them herself and she said it would be too hard. I can’t wait to show her your easy method to make this little goodies. She will be very happy.

Just found your site and SO excited about the pandebono! I made them last night and they were delicious.. just like the ones from the Colombian bakery I’ve been to!!

For those of you who were asking as well – I found tapioca flour at Whole Foods, but what I didn’t know was that tapioca flour IS yuca flour – they are both cassava/yuca starch. Just FYI. =) Thanks Erica!

I have to correct you: Tapioca and Yuca Flours are NOT one and the same. While sometimes interchangeable in a few recipes that I’ve examined, you do not get the same results. And yuca flour is way higher in carbohydrates….google each and you’ll learn the precise differences. I’ve tried Brazilian cheese puffs (buns) which calls specifically for tapioca flour. BIG time difference! I prefer the results with the tapioca flour. Lighter, a bit crisp on the outside. And tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch — same thing, no differences here) is way cheaper than cassava (yuca) flour.

WOW!! I just made these and they came out DELICIOUS. I used costeño cheese, since I’m in Barranquilla right now and I don’t think they have feta here, but followed the recipe exactly aside from that. Gracias, Erica! 🙂

My friend is Brazilian and her mom makes something similar to this quite often. They are delicious! I was looking up recipes for La Semana de las Idiomas del Mundo for my school and I am considering making these. Gracias!

Hi,
I love your blog and the recipies, Colombian pastries are the best!!!! I am planning to do Pandebono, which I eat almost every week and I love it.
My only question is – where I can find yuca flour, I live in NY, but I haven’t seen it nowhere ?

These were on my Colombian menu for a party I catered last night- they really are wonderful! The other ‘hit’ was the Black Bean Soup. Not being familiar with Arepas, I’m not sure they were well received. I loved making them! Thank you for these wonderful postings…and pictures! Can’t do without them!

Even though it’s almost 4 years later, I wanted to comment for anyone coming late to the party that mozzarella would definitely *NOT* be a good substitute for queso fresco, which is more crumbly. The Gourmet Sleuth has an article about Mexican cheeses and substitutions which might be helpful. gourmetsleuth.com/articles/detail/mexican-cheeses

This recipe is great, by the way. I made it for my Colombian neighbors and my son, the delivery boy, came back an hour later with an empty container!

Thanks Erica, I just found your site and just in time for Christmas, I am Colombian born but have lived most of my life overseas – Sydney Australia. My Mum is having a Novena Party tomorrow, so I am going to attempt this recipe and the one for Natilla…. fingers crossed.

I made these Christmas morning while everybody else was going crazy opening gifts. They were perfect! The texture and flavor were right on. The only thing is that it makes 12 very small pandebonos (bit smaller than a golf ball). So if you want, you can make them bigger and only end up with about 6 or double the recipe. But I’m telling you, these were amazing!

This was wonderful of you to post. I miss home, and I just moved to a new city, Philadelphia, to my surprise I found a good amount of fellow Colombianos!! It is nice to walk into the local market, and be able to find our food right on the shelf. No more driving, aimlessly, in search of Masarepa. YAY!!

For the Canadians: Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour (I buy it at my local grocery store). In Saskatchewan I can get Queso Fresco (similar to Feta) at a little foreign food store (Tony’s, Regina – comes from Calgary). So I think other Canadians should be able to find it too! ;o)
Erica: The Queso Fresco I used reminded me a lot of Feta, so I combined it with Havarti as it is the closest in texture I can think of for the Quesito I ate in Medellin. Have you ever used it as a substitute?
The Queso Fresco and the Havarti (grated fine) gave me the best results (I have made this recipe a couple of times)
Mil Gracias Erica!

Looks delicious, found this recipe just in time, I am about to go grocery shopping. Just my style, simple but delicious, never had it before but I say delicious because
I think the ingredients will prove to be a good mix.Hopefully this will be my project for tomorrow . Hope I do justice.

Hi Erika, Thank you so much for the recipe. I prepared some masato last week and, since in Bucaramanga we accompany this drink with pan de bono, I decided to look for the recipe. I found your recipe which it was very easy and I made them. The only question I have is how to make them grow? I divided the mixture in 12 portions and I think they were kind of small. Should I add some baking powder or baking soda, or may be some yeast? Please advise. Thanks.

Erika,
Folks having problems finding the flour to make these should look for it under the ‘manioc’. Cassava, yucca and manioc are all the same thing. Most health food stores carry this. It also makes a wonderful pizza crust for those who cannot tolerant gluten.
Keep up the good work!

I made these last week and came out delicious…grated, not as big as I would have liked, but the wonderful taste was there. At least I know that I’ll have to double the recipe next time in order to accomodate my family’s apetite! Thanks for sharing this recipe Erica!

re: Julia, It’s pronounced approximately Pan de ono.
I assume this feta/queso fresco cheese mixture replaces the traditional Colombian costeno cheese because my mom never had feta in the house. I will re-post my comparisons once I get my hands on some yuca harina. Thanks for this and all of your recipes. This site is a gold mine!

For people in the states and Canada looking for yuca flour: you can often find it in Asian markets as tapioca flour or tapioca starch (it´s often a Thai brand). Also, I´ve tried making pandebono with regular cornmeal and it definitely did not work.

We live in Miami and are lucky to have a couple of places to buy great pan de bono, but my husband and I have tried a few different recipes to make our own at home. After I found your recipe, I tried it out today, and my husband (who is from Cali) ate up most of them! The kids and I liked them, too. They’re definitely the best we’ve tried at home. I don’t have a food processor, so I tried the blender (didn’t work) but ended up just cutting the flours and cheeses together and mixing them by hand in a bowl before adding the egg. I think next time I will use a little less feta (ours was very salty) and a little more quesito colombiano, and maybe a tsp of sugar. But this is definitely a winning recipe for us, and we’ll be using it again! I’m now eager to try your other recipes, since it’s hard to find Colombian recipes that are easy to follow and written in English with English measurements instead of metric. Thanks!!

Hi Tania! Would you mind telling me what you changed to the original recipe and instructions? I did the same exact thing, and found it too salty. I used a blender and it didn’t really work and it came out nothing like the picture. I still enjoyed this recipe, but I will have to make this for about 30 people soon. What did you change to it? Thank you in advance. 🙂

If any one felt as though the amount of feta was too salty how much would you guys decrease it by? I love pandebono, this will be my first time making it and my family is not a big fan of food that is too salty. An quick response would be greatly appreciated 🙂 Thank you!

It seems that the Colombian and the Brazilian cuisine have a lot of similar dishes. Pandebono is very similar to pao de queijo. Anyway, a must try because this cheese bread is simply delicious – even more with a very good Colombian or Brazilian coffee 🙂

I haven’t tried this recipe yet, hope to soon. I’m surprised the dough will hold together with so little moisture. The Queso Fresco locally available, when shredded, has the consistency of mozzarella. I haven’t had much experience with Feta, other than what is sold crumbled for topping salads.
Sounds like a fairly solid dough.

I tried it, I liked it, my Colombian wife approved and recognized it as pandebono.
I don’t have a food processor capable of doing the job, so it was the “old fashioned way”.
It is a fairly heavy, dry dough. I will try letting the cheese sit out overnight to warm up more next time, perhaps be more generous with the cheese, or add a small portion of cottage cheese for more moisture.

just made the pan de bonos, they look and taste like the ones from the Colombian bakeries in Miami. Living away from Miami i have to make everything from scratch. I added 1Tablespoon of sugar before mixing the dough. Next time I’ll add 2 Tablespoons. I like them a little sweet. great recipe Erica thanks.

Hi Erica, My husband made these pandebono last night and they came out amazing! Just as good or better than the Colombian bakery we usually go to. Now we can make them at home and enjoy them fresh out of the oven! Thanks so much, I really enjoy your site and can’t wait to make more of your recipes.

I love this pan de bono,Its my first time to taste it …it was given to us by our favorite columbian Dr…for nurses week and I was curious about this pan coz. I cld not identify the ingredients right away…Im a good cook and a baker but this bread is amazing.Simple and its so delecious.Thanks for sharing the recipe.Gracias !!!!!

The first batch I made were too salty and dense, I’m making another batch now with only 1 cup of feta and 2 tsp of sugar to help offset the sodium from the cheese. They still look like they’re going to be dense though and are taking a lot longer than the 15-20 minutes recommended in the recipe, has anyone else experienced this or knows how to make them less dense?

I don’t know what went wrong, but my dough turned out waaay too liquidy, so I had to add a huge heap of extra flour, unmeasured. And I had to cook for a much longer time. Turned out okay though, but the cheese flavour was too subtle.

I was looking at your pan de yuca recipe and I wanted to know if there is a difference between the tapioca starch used there and the cassava starch used in this recipe. Are they the same thing? I can’t wait to make these!

Hi Erica, thanks for this recipe. I made pandebonos last weekend for breakfast, they came out great. I served them with a cold glass of Milo (chocolate milk). Definitively, I will try more of your recipes. Thanks again.

Thank u so much for ur recipe!! I live in the netherlands and I have not found anywhere Mexican /Colombian fresh cheese! Is there any substitution I can use? Or is there anyone who lives in NL and knows where I can get it???

Erica, YOU ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO Amazing! WOW! haha you send me a link to make my own cheese (how did I not ever think of that!) and it looks super easy! GREAT! THANK YOU SO MUCHHHHHH!! I will DEFINITELY be making this recipe in the next few days and leaving a review! THANK YOUUUU!!!!!!!!!

Made them Saturday came out perfect! BUT I thought they would be sweet? Iforgot that your recipe has no sugar in it so I was wondering if I could put in 2teaspoons ? Some other online recipes have 2 teaspoons while others are 2 tablespoons

Your recipe is the easiest to follow! Texture look and smell were just as expected and taste was soft and cheesy. Just like the bakery! Should I worry about the no sugar part I was trying to be authentic not sure if it should even be considered a sweet bread?

Hi Erica, I just made these and everyone in my home loved them, I had to make 2 batches. I am from Cali, Colombia, live in the South and there are not many Colombian restaurants or bakeries in the city where I live. I found your website just looking for recipes for thanksgiving and made your Pernil, Russian potato salad and Arroz con leche. Everything came out delicious. Thank you so much for all your recipes. For lunch today I’m making the Russian potato salad per my husband’s request and the flank steak with hogao. do you have a recipe for Crema de pollo? Gracias!!!!

so I followed the recipe EXACTLY and the dough came out extremely dry. So dry that it was just a crumbly block in the oven. I even tried adding a little milk to a second batch to make it more moist but that didn’t help. Any ideas what I did wrong or what I can do differently????

I love your blog, its contain the most information about my Colombian
cravings! I am Vietnamese and my boyfriend is Colombian, I love his
mother’s cooking, but she doesnt really have the time to show me. I am
so glad your blog exists!

Traditional pandebonos are made with queso costeño, since this type of cheese is only found in Colombia, I’m substituting it with a combination queso fresco and feta cheese in this recipe. The combination of these two cheeses is perfect for pandebonos.

I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for your blog. I am Colombian, and came to the States when I was 14 years old, and my mom isn’t big on cooking, so I never really got to learn much about how to prepare Colombian dishes. Now I’m a mother to 2 small children and married to a Russian, I go to your blog a lot for guidance on how to make dishes from my beloved homeland. Once again thank you from the bottom of my heart, for helping an expat like myself share the wonders of Colombian cuisine with my loved ones. Best regards

You can’t, what you need to do is go to the latino isle in the supermarket and look for PAN, is a yellow flour-like bag with a white logotype in a blue background. The yuca flower can also be replaced with Tapioca flower, it’s practically de same.

I love these. We live in North Carolina. My husband is Colombian and I have been several times and love the food, the people and the culture. Colombia is a beautiful country that I claim as my second home. I think I also made your Sancocho. We had bandeja paisas today at a great Colombian restaurant in Charlotte. I am making these again soon and look forward to your other recipes. Thank you for sharing. Me encanta con Colombia.

I just made these for my wife, who is a fan of Pandebonos… We loved the flavor!!! I have to say, it is the easiest recipe so far. I made them smaller than usual, and could not stop eating them… ha ha ha…
However the consistency while light and spongy, I’m used to them having more air as supposed to them being doughy. Any ideas as to how to get them that way? should I have made them regular size? the batch gave me 18 as supposed to 12.

My dough did not hold together per the recipe, so I had to add another egg. The dough did bind after that. They baked beautifully, but the flavor wasn’t quite right (from what I remember from many trips to Colombia).
Next time I would make a few changes: I would have the eggs and the cheese at room temperature; I would switch the amounts of cheese– 1 1/4 c. quesito Colombiano and 1 c. feta; and I would definitely use yuca flour, not a substitute. (I used tapioca flour because my supermarket did not carry yuca starch.).
If I had to guess, the yuca flour will give me the flavor I didnt get with the tapioca flour.

Hello Erica – Is an 8 cup food processor large enough for this recipe? I have tried making it without a food processor, and I don’t think it is the right approach. I want to follow your instructions exactly. Please confirm how large of a food processor is required for this (and the other bread recipes like pan de yuca, pan de queso).

Yes, that’s what I use. I use the processor to shred the quesito but the mixer works to mix all ingredients. You might have to mix by hand at the end in order to get the consistency, the mixer will not really give you the dough consistency for the bread to hold together

Hi! These breads are little pieces of heaven…
I really want to make a batch to send in the mail to dear friends who live in another state. Do you think they will survive two-three days in the mail in winter?

We are hosting a student from Colombia and made these as well as some other recipes from this site and I must say they are pretty awesome! Our student states that they are exactly like the ones in the bakery that her mother buys. Thanks for an awesome recipe!

To address issues mentioned in the comments:

1. I used the masara corn flour mentioned and Otto’s cassava flour I got from Amazon. I used Queso from Costco and Fetta from Costco. The ingredients will have different levels of moisture which will affect the recipe.

2. Using the recipe as written the dough would not come together but adding an extra egg fixes it. You have to let the processor go until it becomes a dough – about 3-4 minutes. The processor breaks down the cheese a bit, releasing moisture which makes the dough work . You could add a hint of oil if needed but I didn’t need to

3. These are not yeast based so they won’t fluff like like dinner rolls, but you do need a very hot oven which makes the moisture inside steam up making them fluffy. So heat the oven and make sure it is up to temperature before baking them. You can also pre-heat the oven about 25 to 50 degrees hotter then needed, then turn it down to temperature when you put them in. If you do that they need a bit less time to cook.

I used to eat these when my ex’s father would bring them home from the Colombian bakery. They were so amazing, and I never thought I’d be able to recreate them myself, but this recipe did!! I followed the recipe exactly and they come out amazing every time. My whole family loves when I make these, and they never last very long! Thank you so so much for sharing!

Typically I eat something and then figure out how to make it. I haven’t been to Colombia yet so I’ve been trusting your recipes in making meals and treats for my girlfriend and her mother. Her mother recently wrote a story in her college course about how much she misses pandebono. I made these and as with every recipe of yours, the Colombians love me more. :). Thank you. I had no idea how important it was to my partner to have ajiaco on Christmas until I made yours and saw her face. Your site has been a wonderful resource for pleasing my family and expanding my cooking knowledge

Is it possible to get the ingredients by weight? I’m having trouble with the cheeses and knowing how much they should be crumbled before measuring with cups and having the weight would make that so much easier.
I’m really looking forward to making these, I’ve been missing food like this since I moved from Miami!

Hi,
First off, let me tell you how much I love your website and all your recipes. It’s my go-to whenever I’m feeling a little homesick.
I made these with tapioca flour and they were not as light and fluffy as pandebono is supposed to be – or as yours clearly is. Do you think the tapioca flour is to blame?
I use it when I make buñuelos and get excellent results. Should I perhaps try adding more moisture? I use “cacique” queso fresco and “President” feta, not sure if different brands of cheese could make a difference too!

Hi! I did the bread and it didn’t came out as expected i’m also colombian and I know that they are really fluffy with lots of air inside… although these recipe is missing something that fluff the dough, like yeast or baking powder… I consulted other recipes and the have yeast, butter, sugar and milk. I really love follow your recipes although I think this one need to be revised .

Hi Erica! This looks excellent! As my husband is Brazilian we make pão de queijo, but these look even more delicious. However, where I am I can’t find precooked cornmeal/masarepa, can I substitute with polenta? Or corn flour? I have stacked up on tapioca flour, fortunately 🙂

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